title: RNA polymerase between lesion bypass and DNA repair.
abstract: DNA damage leads to heritable changes in the genome via DNA replication. However, as the DNA helix is the site of numerous other transactions, notably transcription, DNA damage can have diverse repercussions on cellular physiology. In particular, DNA lesions have distinct effects on the passage of transcribing RNA polymerases, from easy bypass to almost complete block of transcription elongation. The fate of the RNA polymerase positioned at a lesion is largely determined by whether the lesion is structurally subtle and can be accommodated and eventually bypassed, or bulky, structurally distorting and requiring remodeling/complete dissociation of the transcription elongation complex, excision, and repair. Here we review cellular responses to DNA damage that involve RNA polymerases with a focus on bacterial transcription-coupled nucleotide excision repair and lesion bypass via transcriptional mutagenesis. Emphasis is placed on the explosion of new structural information on RNA polymerases and relevant DNA repair factors and the mechanistic models derived from it.
authors.affiliation: Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center, Brandeis University, 415 South St., MS029, Waltham, MA, 02454, USA, deacona@brandeis.edu.
authors.forename: Alexandra M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Deaconescu
mesh_terms: D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D001426:Bacterial Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D004249:DNA Damage; D004260:DNA Repair; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D008957:Models, Genetic; D011485:Protein Binding; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D001426:Bacterial Proteins; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D029968:Escherichia coli Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors; C072103:transcription repair coupling factor protein, Bacteria; D012321:DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases; C068631:UvrA protein, E coli; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases